Mike Tomlin questions how Eric Bieniemy is not a head coach

As one of the few Black head coaches in the NFL, Mike Tomlin is often asked about the lack of diversity in the profession. In a new interview, he admitted that he’s not entirely sure what the cause is.

The Pittsburgh Steelers coach singled out Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who interviewed for six head coaching jobs this offseason but failed to land any of them.

“Bieniemy is a real head-scratcher for me,” Tomlin told Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Every offensive coordinator Andy Reid has had in the last 20 years got a head job. One of those guys, Brad Childress, hired me in Minnesota in 2006. Now, Andy has the best offense he’s ever had and [Bieniemy] can’t get a job?”

Tomlin is asking the same question that many others have. For whatever it’s worth, Bieniemy’s own players agree with that take. The list of Reid offensive coordinators who became head coaches is long, and given the Chiefs’ accomplishments in recent years, it’s very strange that Bieniemy hasn’t become one of them.